"... and the works of their hands tell a story - each thread connecting us to those who came before. And the story endures...."
from Piecework Magazine 1993

Kimberly Servello's Embroidery Blog

Kimberly Servello - Pattern Drawer and Embroideress

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Elizabethan Holly Folly

I've been toying with an idea for using DMC's new Memory Thread. Although it's not a bonafide Elizabethan thread or metal wire, I think it's Elizabethan in spirit. With a piece of Memory Thread in your hand, you can't help but begin to make shapes with it. The thread is comprised of 40% copper, 34% viscose, 23% cotton, and 3 % polyamide. I suspect the copper is the core of the thread and provides its wonderful malleability.

I thought it would be fun to create a miniature holly garland with it. In these photos I used detached button-hole stitch (in Gilt Sylke Twist thread) to make a holly leaf right on the Memory Thread, without cutting the leaf away from the remainder of the Memory Thread.

It needs gold veining to give it a little more bling, and red berries. You could either attach red glass beads as berries, or attempt to embroider them in Elizabethan corded brussels stitch, as outlined in Jacqui Carey's Sweet Bags.

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I love the over-the-top glamour of Elizabethan embroidered fashions and the elegance of antique French monogrammed linens. Since I can’t go back in time to enjoy the splendour of those distant eras, I reinvent them for today’s fashions & decor. I invite you to get out your best china, indulge in a pot of tea & decadent pastry and join me on my odyssey....